Winter break has finally arrived, and I’m catching up on crafternoons and favorite podcasts before heading off to Mexico for a week. One in particular that I’ve discovered recently and that has really sucked me in is Off Peak, a podcast about the transit system in LA.

Yeah, there’s even a part of me that says wow, how is that an entire podcast topic? But that’s kind of the point in a way, because there are these hidden worlds we would otherwise know nothing about, and although they’re all centered around LA, I’m nonetheless fascinated over here on the east coast. The most recent episode was “The First Woman Everything”, about a woman who achieved many firsts in the public transit realm. To be honest, it’s taken me a few weeks to get around to listening to it. But it blew my mind, and I highly recommend it (and the other episodes as well; another favorite is episode 2, “Roads Were Not Built for Cars”). Even though I read about alternative transportation all the time, I find myself constantly drawn in time and again by how transit is so deeply entwined with civil rights and social issues in our culture and history. Gives me lots of deep thoughts to ponder on my longer rides.

Of course if we’re talking podcast recommendations, I have to also plug the Joyride Podcast again in case you missed my previous post about getting to talk to Cat about bike commuting, and the Spokesmen podcast actually tipped me off to Off Peak in the first place. If you’re hibernating a bit this winter or otherwise looking for new podcast material, I’m also digging Undone, Radiolab and Revisionist History.

Sometimes I can be kind of morbid. I woke up this morning, stretched, and my first conscious thought of the day was “wow this feels good. I’m glad I’m alive, one day I will be dead and I won’t be able to enjoy things like stretching.”

Which some people might find depressing, but it’s true. They say two things in life are inevitable, death and taxes. But you might be Donald Trump, in which case you can avoid paying taxes, which just leaves death. So at least until we hit the singularity, one day you will die.

…That escalated quickly. Sorry if you just wanted some ideas for bike commuter clothes or helmet suggestions. Those are coming soon, I promise.

So the next time I’m suffering up a long hill, I’m going to try to swear less, feel the burn, and laugh at myself a little. I won’t say “shut up legs”, more like “I hear you, but I’m going to use you while I can. Also, there is beer at the end of this, so go a little faster please.”